€9.5m for 11-storey block of 36 apartments in docklands

The ongoing shortage of rental apartments in Dublin continues to attract investors because of the handsome returns and capital appreciation.

For these reasons Lisney and Hooke & MacDonald are expecting strong interest in an 11-storey apartment block, Canon Hall, at East Road, close to Spencer Dock in the north Dublin docklands, which goes on the market today at a guide price of €9.5 million.

The block was developed in 2008 by McDermott & O’Farrell and includes 36 apartments, 34 car-parking spaces and a ground floor retail unit.

The asking price works out at about €260,000 per apartment.

Canon Hall is currently producing a rent roll of €522,720 – showing a yield of 5.5 per cent – but according to the joint selling agents, the real market rental value should be €655,200.

Such a rent roll would give a new owner a gross yield of 6.9 per cent. The block operates at full occupancy with the exception of the ground floor retail unit. Two apartments are currently being held vacant to facilitate viewings during the sales campaign.

Rent roll

A breakdown of the rent roll shows that 25 two-bedroom apartments are rented at an average of €1,550 each per month; nine one-beds are bringing in €1,250 each while two two-bedroom penthouses are each let at €1,750. The retail unit can be expected to rent at around €1,000 per month.

Rents in the city generally rose by 8.7 per cent in the 12 months up to last December, according to the Private Rental Tenancies Board. Construction of new apartments in the Dublin area generally has been slow to take off despite the pent-up demand from tenants and purchasers.

Canon Hall was built to a high specification and all 36 apartments are large and bright with most of them having dual aspect. All of them have balconies or terraces and many of the units on the upper floor have clear views over much of the city.

The block is around 200 metres from Spencer Dock railway station, the first train station opened in Dublin city centre in 116 years.

The apartments are located in an area undergoing radical changes including the completion of the new Central Bank headquarters; the second phase of 700,000sq ft of offices at Spencer Dock and the planned €111 million commercial development by Oxley Holdings and Sean Mulryan's Ballymore Homes.